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Toward Wholeness Blog

Awakening the Feminine Voice in the Church – What it means and Why it Matters

Richard Dahlstrom

Apr 7, 2018
4 min

Awakening the Feminine Voice in the Church – What it means and Why it Matters

The equivalent of 5 jumbo jets worth of women die in labor each day… life time risk of maternal death is 1,000x higher in a poor country than in the west. That should be an international scandal. In the nineteenth century, the central moral challenge was slavery. In the twentieth century, it was the battle against totalitarianism. We believe that in this century the paramount moral challenge will be the struggle for gender equality around the world – all quotes by Nicholas D.

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Leadership Beneath the Surface: Paying attention to the Invisible

Richard Dahlstrom

Jan 25, 2018
5 min

Leadership Beneath the Surface: Paying attention to the Invisible

This stuff has value. This stuff has limited value. It has value because everyone could use a motivational shot in the arm, a reminder that God has created each of us, whether pastors, stay at home moms & dads, code writers, marketers, health care workers, teachers, artists – we’re all made by God with gifts to contribute to this broken world. We’re all made for influence. These leadership tools are valuable too, because influence is never automatic in life. Influence is th

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The Disco Ball of Success, and What to do when You’re Blinded by it

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 2, 2017
12 min

The Disco Ball of Success, and What to do when You’re Blinded by it

Here’s a free chapter for all those folks you know in your lives who have walked the road of success for a bit of distance and are both gratified and weary, cherishing what’s happened so far, but unclear as to what should happen next. If you know such people, please share this chapter with them on your social media. For me, sharing this isn’t about promoting my new book of which this is a part – it’s about helping people navigate the waters of career, creativity, family, an

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Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 28, 2017
2 min

Are you running to Win?

You are God’s uniquely handcrafted beautiful creation. You have gifts to bring to our darkening and weary world, and that means you weren’t just put here to survive, or have a few grand adventures of your own. You were put here to bless; to pour your life out onto the canvass of this world in the colors of hope, in an artistry that’s yours alone. So get on with it. Run to win. Get over the mentalities of scarcity which define survival and a hefty stash of cash as the win be

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Words Matter: It’s high time we believe that!

Richard Dahlstrom

Jun 30, 2017
5 min

Words Matter: It’s high time we believe that!

I wrote it out on an index card and put it in my pocket. It served me well during those tumultuous days, when I was feeling socially awkward and at times, tempted to respond to unkind words with angry verbal retribution. Instead, I’d walk away, usually saying nothing at all, amazed at the power of silence as a means of killing the momentum of escalation that so often happens in so many places: peer groups in school Work place gossip Social media rants Political parties with

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The Gifts of Christmas #3: His humble circumstances free us

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 15, 2016
3 min

The Gifts of Christmas #3: His humble circumstances free us

It was a low point for me in my seminary career. “If he’s right, I’m finished” I remember thinking to myself. I’d later, in a psychological profile exit interview from seminary, be labeled, “spectacularly unambitious”. I wear clothes I like, clothes that make me feel comfortable, because when I’m comfortable I’m creative, and when I’m creative, I feel better able to contribute my gifts to the world. Well connected? I grew up in Fresno; knew no authors, no CEO’s, no politi

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How the West was Lost – One Reason the church is Dying in America and why a “mixed drink

Richard Dahlstrom

May 17, 2015
5 min

How the West was Lost – One Reason the church is Dying in America and why a “mixed drink

this video (or the print version of the article) reveals a trend in the United States whereby a larger and larger percentage of the populace move toward the “religiously unaffiliated” category. The trend is happening across every age demographic, but is particularly pointed among millennials. In the wake of the survey results, there’s been no shortage of diagnostics offered, and further dicing of the data. Words have spent explaining why: Homosexuality. Science. The cree

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Good Leadership: “Reserve Capacity” and 3 ways to develop it

Richard Dahlstrom

Mar 6, 2015
4 min

Good Leadership: “Reserve Capacity” and 3 ways to develop it

What is reserve capacity and how is it developed? Read on: “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5) The imagery is obvious. Here’s a guy running with other men, which represents you and I living our lives on normal days, when there’s no significant or memorable challenges. These days, like good officiating in football,

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The Art of Paying Attention, courtesy of Seattle Seahawks

Richard Dahlstrom

Jan 19, 2015
4 min

The Art of Paying Attention, courtesy of Seattle Seahawks

The touchdown pass in overtime yesterday shook the city. Literally. The stadium was equipped with earthquake censors for some tests, and when the Wilson to Kearse pass was completed it was game over, but the shaking had just begun. Hugs and irrational joy in the basement of my friend’s house where we were watching were matched by fireworks outside and the commencement of a celebration that would last well into the night throughout the city. Clichés about it not being over

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Ambition or Temptation? How to tell the difference

Richard Dahlstrom

Dec 20, 2014
4 min

Ambition or Temptation? How to tell the difference

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” The Preacher in Ecclesiastes I’m sure you’ve been there. You want something to be different in your life. Maybe it’s a vocational success you’re after, or a new house, a remodel, a spouse, (a remodel of a spouse? nope), a successful and meaningful retirement. Or you want things to be different in the world because the racism, injustice, human trafficking, environmental destruction, or whatever it is for you, jus

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The Pig Lady from Iowa: What the church and pastors MUST learn from the 2014 election

Richard Dahlstrom

Nov 5, 2014
4 min

The Pig Lady from Iowa: What the church and pastors MUST learn from the 2014 election

The sad truth is that, even by their own admission, politicians and the machinery that work so hard to get them elected, had no interest in changing minds during this last election cycle. Both parties messaged to their core constituency in hopes that their vilification of the ‘other’ would motivate people to get out and vote. Everyone was, in other words, ‘preaching to the choir’. This is the way everything’s done these days. If you have a blog, I’m told the only way you’l

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When “churches” implode – Three truths to give you hope

Richard Dahlstrom

Nov 1, 2014
5 min

When “churches” implode – Three truths to give you hope

Mars Hill church community in Seattle may create questions and/or pain for Christ followers in both Seattle and beyond. But churches closing their doors is nothing new. People who count such things say that about 4,000 churches close every year in America and the reasons are wide ranging. I take hope in knowing from the Bible that organizational failure and church failure are two different things. The former is product of human error, economies, shifting demographics and a

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After Failure – The next steps matter most. What to avoid and what to do.

Richard Dahlstrom

Oct 18, 2014
5 min

After Failure – The next steps matter most. What to avoid and what to do.

Failure isn’t really the main problem in this world. There are remedies for failures, and often clear steps to take so that in the wake of failure our lives can be stronger, richer, more compassionate, and more honest than they ever might have been without failing at all. So failure’s not the biggest problem any of us face. The critical moments are the steps we take immediately after though. It’s those steps that will become the main determinants of our future. So here’s

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Five Values for Sustainable Leadership (pt 2).

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 23, 2014
5 min

Five Values for Sustainable Leadership (pt 2).

just to be loved… can it be enough? My previous post offered the first two of five essential values for leaders to nurture and develop if they hope to still be living into their calling and sustaining important relationships, “for the long haul.” Giftedness will get you in the door as a leader, and romance will get you started in a relationship, but it’s these five critical qualities that will allow you to stay in the game for decades. In addition to teachability/humility

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“Five Values for Sustainable Leadership”, vital for churches, families, calling (part 1)

Richard Dahlstrom

Sep 21, 2014
4 min

“Five Values for Sustainable Leadership”, vital for churches, families, calling (part 1)

Will you still be using your gifts at 83 like Fred Beckey is here? I hope so. My predecessor at the church I lead in Seattle served that community for 38 years. The farmers in these high Alps have held the same land, stewarding the soil and shepherding the flocks entrusted to them, for generations. Fred Beckey is still climbing in his 90’s, in the mountains he’s been exploring since 1936. And yes, there are healthy marriages where spouses are still in love, having been fa

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Obscurity has its privileges. Answers to feelings of insignificance.

Richard Dahlstrom

Jul 17, 2014
3 min

Obscurity has its privileges. Answers to feelings of insignificance.

In just a few short days, my wife and I will be off to Europe where we’ll trek through the Alps, fully expecting to find the fingerprints of God in both creations beauty and power, and in the fingerprints of history. Carl Muth’s faithfulness in obscurity is an example of the latter, and a reminder the big, loud, high profile stuff, isn’t necessarily the best. Obscurity has it’s privileges! …. In the Bavarian countryside, during the days of WWII, there was a small house, su

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Adaptation to sameness – a skill to nurture and keep

Richard Dahlstrom

Jul 7, 2014
4 min

Adaptation to sameness – a skill to nurture and keep

The training of the body of is vital for people like us, who have spent most of our waking hours during adulthood sitting in chairs. Just over one year ago, my wife and I decided to tackle Mt. St. Helens in April. We thought we were in decent shape for the hike because my wife did some circuit training a couple days a week and I did a little bit of jump roping, sit ups, and a few pull ups on a climbing wall two days a week and had skied a good amount during the previous wi

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Achilles Heal: Lessons for life and leadership learned from a tendon

Richard Dahlstrom

May 27, 2014
5 min

Achilles Heal: Lessons for life and leadership learned from a tendon

The Achilles story is appropriate because this tendon seems the bane of countless athletes. Anatomy for Runners tells the story of a high school cross country student who injures the Achilles, takes the summer off, feels fine, and then returns in the fall only to immediately re-injure himself there. Rest. Repeat. Rest. Repeat again, getting injured yet again, and then swear. “Why is this not healing?” Of course, in the grand scheme of things happening in Nigeria, Santa

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Killing the Power Play – Lessons from World Vision and Church History

Richard Dahlstrom

Apr 2, 2014
7 min

Killing the Power Play – Lessons from World Vision and Church History

gotta kill the power play It’s been over week now since World Vision acted, the Evangelical world reacted, and hundreds of us wrote about it. This morning, I’m enjoying some coffee and reading John 9, which is a story about a blind guy Jesus heals with spit and mud on some random Saturday. This leads to some intense questioning and right there in the middle of it all we read this: Then some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God because he does not observe the Sa

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2014: A Better Path by Adjusting Values: more or less

Richard Dahlstrom

Jan 3, 2014
4 min

2014: A Better Path by Adjusting Values: more or less

this article reminds me that it makes sense to think about values. Here are some values that need adjusting… more or less. More Intentionality in affirmation and encouragement – I’ve recently become freshly aware of the power encouragement has, both through experiences of giving and receiving it. Decades ago, in the midst of a depression that came about in the wake of my dad’s death, the person who made the biggest difference in my life did so through encouragement and affi

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